Fixing Broken Bonds
by SleepingFia
Summary: Random Gravity Falls one shot I had the sudden need to write. "Mabel and Dipper try to 'fix' their Grunkles relationship, but things get a little out of hand when they tell them to 'just talk to each other.'" (Cover picture by kiki-kit on Tumblr)


"Dipper! Dipper we need to talk!" Mabel ran into the bedroom she shared with her twin brother.

"Mabel? What is it?" Dipper looked up from the book he was reading.

"We need to help Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford get along more!" She exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Wha-what?"

"Their always avoiding each other or fighting or… or… BOTH!" She practically squaked.

"I hardly think that's our business." Dipper stated turned back to his book.

"Oh c'mon, Dipping sauce! Siblings shouldn't fight! Don't you wanna help them? Think about how much happier they would be! And… And… We could have fun family time together!" She started to poke her brother.

"Ah, Mable stop it!" He giggled.

"So what do you say?" Mabel leaned towards her brother, that signature grin on her face.

"I guess It couldn't hurt to try…" He finally decided after a moment of thought. Mabel's smile got wider (if that was even possible) she jumped up and did a little victory fist. "We need to go about this delicately… " Dipper told her.

"Yeah, yeah." Mabel rolled her eyes playfully. "You talk to Great uncle Ford, I'll deal with Stan." She said, running out of the room.

"Wait, no-Mabel!" He tried to call after her but she was already gone He looked around for a moment, before letting out a small sigh. "It'll be fine, Dipper. It'll be fine… You just gotta… Talk… Just… Talk…" he tried to reassure himself. "It's just Great Uncle Ford…" Why was he so nervous? Sure, Stan and Ford's relationship was… Not so great… But what's the worst that could happen? Dipper pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind. He was too paranoid. He smiled and walked down stairs and towards his great uncle's' lab. He pushed the code into the vending machine and headed towards the elevator. Once he arrived at the lowest floor he stepped out of the small metal box. Ford was sitting at his desk, his head low over his work. 'He seems busy, maybe I should come back later.' Dipper stood there awkwardly for a moment before stepping forward. "Great Uncle Ford?" he called out. Said grunkle looked up from his work.

"Oh, Dipper," he smiled. "What's up?"

"I… Uhh… You… We… I…" he stuttered.

"Come on, spit it out."

"We… You… You need to fix your relationship with Stan." he said, some confidence returning to his voice.

"I what?" Ford looked dumbfounded, but his expression soon turned to one of bitterness and mistrust when he processed what Dipper had just said "There's nothing wrong with our relationship."

"You can't honestly say that!" Dipper exclaimed. "You two were so close when you were kids but now… All you do is fight."

Ford sighed, "People change."

"Obviously." Dipper turned around and walked away before their conversation could continue. Once he got safely upstairs he sighed and leaned against the wall. "He probably hates me know." He mumbled.

"Dipper!" Mabel ran up to her twin,

"How did it go?"

"Not good."

Mabel frowned. "Me either."

"Maybe we should just give up…" Dipper muttered

"What?! After we've come all this way?"

"Mabel, we barely did anything." The male Pines twin pointed out.

"Yeah but, we can't give up now! They need us to help fix their relationship." Mabel exclaimed.

"Great Uncle Ford made it pretty clear he didn't want our help."

"Oh 'cmon" Mabel playfully punched her brother's arm. "Don't be a doo-doo head."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "I guess we can give it one more shot."

"Sqeee!" Mabel shrieked. "We'll get it this time, you'll see."

Dipper smiled. "So, what's the plan this time?"

"Hmm…" Mabel rubbed her chin while she thought. "I think we should make them talk to each other, get them to tell the other what's bothering them. As they say, communication is vital in any relationship."

"Do you really think that will work?"

Mabel shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

Dipper nodded. "But I think we should wait and do it tomorrow, let them cool off a bit."

"Yeah, okay." Mabel smiled. "This will work, I promise."

The next day…

The younger Pines twins finished up their breakfast and headed back upstairs to begin planning.

"We should call a family meeting." Mabel stated.

"Don't you think we should be a little more… subtle?" Dipper looked over at this twin.

"Nah."

"Alright…" Dipper looked around. "Should we do it now?" Mabel nodded.

The Pines twins headed back downstairs.

Grunkle Stan was sitting on the couch, browsing through the tv channels and Great Uncle Ford was sitting at the table, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. Dipper and Mabel exchanged a glance before stepping forward.

"Grunkle Stan? Great Uncle Ford?" Mabel called out, Dipper could tell she was nervous.

"Hm?" Stan tore his eyes away from the tv and looked at the young girl.

"We want to talk to you." she told them. Stan just started at her, suspicion clear in his eyes.

"What about?"

"Um… Well… " Mabel looked at her brother for help.

"Actually, we want you to talk to each other." he jumped in. Both grunkles started at the young twins.

"There's nothing we need to talk about" Ford said after a moment of silence.

"Yes there is! You're both acting like a bunch of dummies!" Mabel exclaimed. "You need to fix your relationship!"

"There's nothing wrong with our relationship!" Ford practically yelled.

"There's everything wrong with our relationship." Stan muttered.

"What?"

"Our relationship is not fine and you know it!" it was Stan's turn to yell now. "We haven't done anything but fight since you got back, hell we haven't done anything but fight since I broke you're dumb machine!" Ford's face went slightly pale before a wave of anger washed over him.

"And who's fault is that?! You couldn't get over the idea of me leaving to do something productive with my life! You wanted me to waste away with you on some dumb boat! Well sorry that I wanted to do something with my life." Ford spat.

"I told you it was an accident! But no, you never listen!"

The younger twins exchanged a worried glance. This is not what they had expected.

"Why should I listen to you?! You're only the person who RUINED MY LIFE!" The author yelled.

"Ruined!? I saved you! If it weren't for me you'd still be trapped in another dimension!" Stanley cried.

"Yeah well, because of that the-" Ford cut himself off before he could say anymore.

"What? What were you gonna say!?"

"No, it's nothing." he muttered.

"Stanford Pines, what the hell were you going to say? Tell me!" Stan demanded.

"Why don't you just mind your own business!?" Ford exclaimed.

"You can't be so secretive all the time! You need to tell your family things!" Stan sighed, "You need to realize, poindexter, that you're family is all you have left, and if you keep pushing them away, you won't have anything left." Stan turned around and crossed his arms. "I'm done dealing this, I'm done dealing with you. It's not worth all the pain." Ford's face was an unreadable mix of emotions, Dipper and Mabel looked from grunkle to grunkle, frowns etched upon their young features. They all stood there like that for awhile.

"Stanley…" Ford finally spoke. Stan peered over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed in a glare. "I- I'm sorry"

"It's a little too late for sorrys, sixer." Stan hissed.

"I'm sorry." he repeated. "I'm sorry." Stan just stood there, his back to his brother. "Stanley, I'm sorry." Stan rolled his eyes. "Please forgive me."

"No. Not this time."

"Please Stanley, please." Ford begged. "You're right, I'm an idiot, please forgive me." Stan peered over his shoulder again. His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed tears streaming down his brother's cheeks. He quickly turned his head back around, not wanting to give in. "Please…" Stan shook his head, his eyes locked onto the wall in front of him, not wanting to see Ford's expression.

The younger Pines twins started at their grunkles. Things had changed quickly.

"You can't push me away and then expect me to come running back every time." Stan stated.

"I- I'm…" Stanford started at his brother back. "Sorry." he finished. He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around his brothers back. "I'm sorry." he whispered. "Stanley I'm sorry." Stan's face twisted as he tried to hold back his own tears, but after a moment of struggle, he gave in and let the salty water streak down his face. The two twins sobbed quietly. "I'm sorry." Ford's voice was muffled by his brothers shirt.

"I know." Stan choked out through his tears. "I know."

A/N: Well... That happened... I feel like I'm really bad at writing angst D: Oh well, I hope this was angsty enough for you, non the less. 


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